Voice: Reggie ...

Reggie: You're doing this, aren't you!

Voice: Doing what?

Reggie: You've locked us in this house!

Voice: How would I do that?

Reggie: Shut up! Let us out!

Voice: I don't know what you mean. This place is acting of its own power.

Reggie: You know what's going on! You can get us out!

Voice: How would I know that? I only know what you know.

Reggie: That's a lie, you devil! Just like Strahd knew I was "touched", you know what's going on here!

Voice: If you'd just let me help you — truly help you — I could get you out.

Reggie: Shut up! You know ... you know I can't let you do that. No more death.

Voice: You don't need my help for that, young one.

Reggie: Please.

OOC: Just like a familiar, if you ever want to control the voice, feel free.

Voice: You had your chance down below to get out of here safely but you chose wrong. Now if you did on the altar what you did to Garamond, you remember Garamond don't you...

"Stupid. Can't do things like that. No."

• Every room that contains a fireplace, an oven, or a stove is filled with poisonous black smoke. The room is heavily obscured, and any creature that starts its turn in the smoke must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or take 1d10 poison damage.

Combat Initiative Order

Lando 23 Tilo 13 Andrei 12 Artus 9 Reggie 2

Reggie finds himself walking through a door. The door is familiar, yet not. He enters a room full of shifting light and boxes. The boxes are stacked, creating incredibly high towers. Reggie tries to see the tops of these towers and marvels at the height of the ceiling. Black birds are circling the towers. Some are landing in branches which sprout from the box towers. He hears a voice, but it's hard to tell where it's coming from. It sounds sorrowful. Or maybe in pain. Reggie turns and the door has become an open window. Through the window, Reggie sees a shifting gray fog. A black bird is sitting on the window sill. It looks at Reggie and screeches. Reggie looks back at the boxes and begins to walk through them. As he touches them, he realizes the boxes are carved like wood. Strange scenes adorn the boxes. Trees. Windmills. Headless people. Artus appears at Reggie's side wearing a top hat. He's holding a sword in one hand and a rose in the other. Artus is laughing like a little girl. It's a familiar laugh, but not the voice which is drawing Reggie further into the room. Artus skips away, and Reggie continues to walk through the maze of carved boxes. Large, colorful leaves have started to fall around him. With each step, the leaves crunch underfoot. Reggie starts to hurry as the voice gets more insistent. He approaches Andrei from behind, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. As Andrei turns around, it's Garamond, but it's Andrei. It looks like Andrei, but it's really Garamond. "Who's yelling?" Reggie asks. "I'm keeping my promise," Andrei/Garamond says. Yet, it's neither Andrei's nor Garamond's voice. It's a younger male's voice. Another familiar voice. "I'm keeping my promise," he says again. Andrei/Garamond, who is also holding a sword in one hand, turns away again, and Reggie walks past, still looking for the voice which is now very much in distress. "Hello?" Reggie calls. Reggie's boots start to squelch a little with each step. He looks down at the floorboards and the leaves have been replaced by pools and splatters of blood. He reaches out and touches the walls of the narrow hallway he is trying to walk down. His feet are sticking to the floor and gravity has changed. It's now very difficult to walk in a straight line. Every step takes incredible will power. The walls are rough on his hands. It's like the walls have been lined with raw split logs. As he struggles to continue forward, the words of the voice begin to make sense. "Please," she pleads. "I don't want him to die," she continues. "Momma?" Reggie calls. He looks over his shoulder and Artus is following closely behind. He has a tremendous bloody gash across his fur-covered chest. It's pouring blood, but Artus seems unfazed by this. Reggie looks at the sword in his hand. It is clean. The rose, however, is now black and dead looking. "I'm keeping my promise," Artus says in the little girl's voice. "I'll do anything," the voice of Momma pleads from out of sight. "Momma!" Reggie calls again. He turns away from Artus and pushes harder to get down the hallway. He finally turns the corner and enters a room so bright Reggie covers his eyes with his hands and falls to his knees. "I'll do anything," Momma's voice says again. "No, Momma," Reggie responds, still hiding his eyes from the light. "I can save him," another voice responds. It is the voice. Reggie's nightmare voice. "No," Reggie whispers. He can tell that the light has gone out, so he looks up. The room is in complete darkness except for a circle of light in the center. Strahd stands in the middle of the light. He is dressed in simple brown pants and a white shirt. He holds a farming implement in his hand like a spear. He is looking to the left where there is a bed. Almost all of the bed is in complete shadow. All Reggie can make out is the foot. On the bed, but covered by a sheet, is someone. Reggie can make out the shapes of their feet under the sheet. Strahd is standing and looking down as if he is looking at the face of the person in the bed. "I can save him," he repeats, but it isn't Strahd's voice; it is the voice's voice. "I'll do anything," Momma repeats. "No!" Reggie says. He tries to stand, but he can't. His legs won't work. It's like he's been glued to the floor. As he struggles, Strahd leans the farming implement against the foot of the bed and bends forward over the bed, his torso disappearing into the darkness. From it, he extracts a baby . A slightly bloody and mucus-covered newborn. The baby isn't moving or making a sound. It appears dead. Strahd stands erect and lovingly lifts the baby so that its head is level with his. He draws the baby toward him. Their mouths are almost touching. Strahd opens his mouth and breathes into the baby's face. It's an incredibly long breath. Finally, the baby begins to twitch and then move. Its face winkles as it begins to fuss. As its little arms and legs jerk and kick, Strahd leans forward into the darkness once again. When he returns again, the baby is gone. "Thank you," Momma's voice says. It is tired, but extremely thankful. "He'll keep his promise," Artus says in that little girl's voice. "He will," Andrei/Garamond agrees in the little boy's voice. "If you let him," they say in unison. As Strahd picks up the implement, he vanishes. "What did you promise?" Reggie asks. He is crying. He looks at the two foot-shaped mounds at the end of the bed. "What did you promise, Momma?" Artus and Andrei/Garamond walk into the circle of light. Andrei/Garamond has a matching bloody gash across his chest. The two turn to face Reggie. Their swords are now dripping blood, just as their chest wounds are dripping blood. Their fronts are soaked in blood. As one, they turn their heads to look at the bed. The sheet is now soaked in blood and the bit of it not in shadow is also dripping. The floor is now almost completely covered in blood. "What did you promise, Momma?!" Reggie begs. "It's time to let him," Artus says in his own voice. Garamond steps forward, and it's truly Garamond. Bloody, back from the grave Garamond. "Protect Artus like you couldn't protect me," Garamond says in his own voice. "What did you promise?!" Reggie screams. "Let him," Garamond says, his voice trailing away as the dream ends.